Washington County planners recommend Vernon septage station despite neighborhood concerns

The Washington County Planning & Zoning Commission on Nov. 3 recommended approval of a minor development review and variance requests for a City of Vernon septage station on a roughly 6-acre site, forwarding the matter to the Vernon town council for final action on Nov. 17.

Planning staff described the project as a redevelopment of an existing wastewater treatment site with a new pretreatment/septage station sited at the southeast corner of the parcel with access from Docken Street. Staff said the station will include screening and a wash system to remove large solids before piping the effluent to the Vernon wastewater treatment plant and recommended approval to the commission.

The project’s representative, Dale Long of Municipal Engineering Services, told the commission the station’s pretreatment screens will remove “rocks, bricks, trash” and that screenings would be collected in covered dumpsters and washed to reduce odorous material. He said unloading would occur off the street and that the current plan calls for manual operation with a city employee present when trucks dump; the applicant said there are no present plans for a fully automated, 24-hour operation.

Neighbors at the meeting raised several concerns. Tiffany Sanders, a Docken Street resident, said residents worried about trucks and pedestrian safety: “Some of them ride the little mobility scooters. It’s their only form of transportation … Is there money in this to put a sidewalk in?” Norman Sanders, another nearby resident, said road wear and odors could reduce property values and described fear of increased nighttime truck traffic. Residents also quoted a figure discussed at a neighborhood meeting—“50 to 60,000 gallons of sewage a day”—and questioned how many hauler trucks that would mean.

Planning staff and the applicant offered clarifications: staff said the notice and neighborhood information meeting requirements were met and that four neighbors attended the meeting. The applicant answered that the application submitted estimated roughly eight truck trips per day (depending on truck capacity), that the pretreatment is intended to reduce solids entering the plant, and that staff presence is required under current operations. Staff cautioned that state legislative changes to review timelines mean local processes must be responsive to shorter sufficiency and review windows.

After public comment, a commissioner moved to approve staff recommendation; the motion carried on a roll-call vote with the voting members recorded as affirmative. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Vernon town council, which is scheduled to consider the final decision on Nov. 17.

Details that remain to be resolved include final hours of operation, any future automation, whether revenues will be dedicated to local mitigation (for sidewalks, odor control, or road maintenance), and whether truck routing or hours-of-operation limits will be imposed by the Vernon council. Planning staff said representatives of the City of Vernon were not present because the city had a concurrent council meeting.

The commission’s action was strictly a recommendation; the town council retains authority to set operating conditions and accept or reject the project at the final hearing.